Courses

We organise a range of courses at subsidised prices each year. We want to cater to the needs of our club members, so if you have any ideas for topics or course content then get in touch with the Gear, Courses & Competitions Secretaries.

The number of places on each course is necessarily limited, so we do usually ask for payment in advance. Your place on a course is not guaranteed until you have paid!

Details of each course will be sent out to the mailing list when they are confirmed, or when places become available.

Advanced Mountain First Aid 1

Suitable even for complete first aid beginners, this course will give you the basic skills to deal with emergencies in the hills and mountains. Topics include altitude sickness, hypothermia, trauma, evacuation, and more. We would recommend this course to everyone who wants to climb regularly outdoors.

Duration: 16 hours over 2 days

Advanced Mountain First Aid 2 (Hilary term 2015, date TBC)

Building on the skills learned in AMFA1, this course will cover more complex issues such as serious trauma and remote illness. It extends to the use of injections, sutures, intravenous fluids, wilderness dentistry, road traffic collisions, allergic reactions, and more. We would recommend this to everyone in the club as a continuation from AMFA1, and especially those planning longer trips. On expeditions to remote areas, advanced first aid skills can make ALL the difference.

Duration: 16 hours over 2 days

Rope work course (Hilary term)

One of our longest-running and most popular courses, this covers a range of key rope skills needed to climb safely. Major topics include building anchors, prusiking up ropes, (un)assisted hoists, manipulating ropes on belay, basic and advanced abseils, and rescue techniques. Both new and experienced climbers benefit hugely from this course, but

PLEASE NOTE you will need a basic familiarity with KNOTS, BELAYING, PRUSIKS AND SLINGS to get the most out of this course. To build your knowledge to the required level, we will be teaching basic climbing skills over Michaelmas both indoors and out, and will run a few refresher sessions at the Gardener's Arms on Wednesday evenings of Hilary Week 0 and 1.

Duration: 6 weeks

Wilderness Navigation Course

This weekend navigation course takes place on the Hilary Term North Wales meet, and has been extremely well reviewed by OUMC members in previous years. Sessions on the theory and practice of mountain navigation are delivered in a ratio of one instructor to six students, with plenty of opportunity to practice these skills in the mountains.

As everyone's needs are different, we would like to tailor the group tuition to what you would most like to learn. For example, last year we focused on how to navigate down after topping out in foggy/stormy conditions, and included a night navigation session. If you would like to request specific navigation subjects, such as techniques or weather conditions, please get in contact with the Gear, Courses and Competition Secretaries

Duration: Several sessions over the weekend

Expedition planning

It can be hard to realise your mountaineering aspirations during term time, which is why we have a summer vacation and the Irvine Fund to help us out. This year we would like to give our members the opportunity to get well-informed advice and motivation in the form of an expedition planning session.

The idea is to go over key aspects of the planning and skills required to successfully manage larger and more adventurous expeditions. OUMC has an exceptional history of daring expeditions; you can read about a few examples from 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Everyone starts somewhere of course, and we hope this session will demonstrate that climbing adventurers need not be strapping demi-gods who were on rock before they could walk!